Over 80% of Americans, including 65% of Republicans, believe abortion “should be managed between a woman and her doctor, not the government” – Axios/Ipsos Poll findings are consistent with other polling that consistently finds Americans across the political spectrum support legal abortion, don’t want pregnancy to be legislated
Senator Murray: “This is as simple as it gets—if you care at all, just a tiny bit, about protecting women’s access to health care and allowing women to make decisions about their pregnancies that are right for them and their families, you should support this bill.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and the Democratic women of the U.S. Senate— Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)—introduced a bill to express support for protecting access to reproductive health care after the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. The bill simply states: “It is the sense of Congress that— (1) protections for access to abortion rights and other reproductive health care after the Dobbs v. Jackson, 597 U.S. 215 (2022) decision on June 24, 2022, should be supported; and (2) the protections enshrined in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) should be restored and built upon, moving towards a future where there is reproductive freedom for all.” The text of the bill is HERE.
8 in 10 Americans including two-thirds of Republicans, agree that the government shouldn’t be involved in how a woman manages abortion issues, according to an Axios/Ipsos poll from March 2024. This is consistent with other recent polling post-Dobbs that has consistently found that Americans across the political spectrum support legal abortion and don’t want pregnancy to be legislated.
“Senate Democrats have tried over and over again since Donald Trump’s Supreme Court judges overturned Roe v. Wade, to restore a woman’s basic right to make her own health care decisions,” said Senator Murray. “We voted on legislation to restore the protections of Roe; Republicans blocked it. We voted on legislation to protect contraception; Republicans blocked it. We just voted just last week on legislation to protect access to IVF; Republicans blocked that too, in a stunning display of hypocrisy. We’ve gone to the Senate floor on multiple occasions to try and pass truly basic laws to protect to right to travel, protect doctors providing legal abortion care from being threatened by out-of-state extremists, and so much else—Republicans have, in lockstep, blocked each bill every time.”
“Now we have a bill that simply expresses support for a woman’s right to access to reproductive health care—it doesn’t force anything, it doesn’t cost anything, it’s just a half-page bill saying women should have the basic freedom to make their own decisions about their health care,” Senator Murray continued. “This is as simple as it gets—if you care at all, just a tiny bit, about protecting women’s access to health care and allowing women to make decisions about their pregnancies that are right for them and their families, you should support this bill. I hope enough of my Republican colleagues can at the very least agree with the idea—which clear majorities of their own constituents support—that women should be able to have the right to make their own health care decisions without politicians getting in their way.”
“Senate Republicans have shown that, for all their attempts to sound moderate on reproductive freedoms, when it comes time to vote they always fall in line with MAGA extremism. This commonsense bill to protect reproductive freedom is only necessary because the MAGA Supreme Court reversed Roe nearly two years ago after a decades-long crusade from the hard-right,” said Leader Schumer. “The Reproductive Freedom for Women Act affirms a woman’s fundamental right to choose, and calls for enshrining the protections of Roe v Wade into law – something the vast majority of Americans want. I thank Senator Murray and all my colleagues who cosponsored this vital legislation, and I will work with them to bring it to the floor.”
“Every woman, no matter where she lives, should have the right to make her own decisions about her body, family, and future,” said Senator Baldwin. “Since Roe v. Wade was overturned two years ago, millions of Americans have been stripped of the right to make their own health care decisions because some judge states away said so. I’m proud to stand with the vast majority of Americans who support restoring abortion rights and will not give up this fight until Roe is once again the law of the land.”
“In the nearly two years since the Supreme Court threw out Roe v. Wade, our nation has seen the horrific consequences of Republicans’ anti-science, anti-woman crusade as the right to abortion, contraception and even IVF—which millions rely on to start or grow their families—have been under constant threat,” said Senator Duckworth. “I’m so proud that Illinois is a leader in protecting reproductive rights and is a beacon of hope and access for millions, but we must do more at the federal level to protect and expand affordable access to healthcare and enshrine every American’s right to make their own decisions about their own bodies.”
“Ever since Roe v. Wade was overturned, anti-choice extremists have made it clear that they will stop at nothing to restrict women’s reproductive freedom,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m helping introduce this legislation to reaffirm our commitment to restoring Roe in federal law and stopping any attempts to enact a nationwide abortion ban.”
Senate Democrats made clear at the outset of this Congress that they are continuing to fight to protect every American’s reproductive rights and will be a firewall against Republicans’ continued attacks on women’s rights. Senate Democrats have introduced more than a dozen pieces of legislation to protect reproductive rights from further attacks, protect providers, and help ensure women get the care they need; importantly, Senate Democrats are fighting to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would restore the right to abortion nationwide. Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision, Senate Democrats sought unanimous consent on the Senate floor to pass four common-sense bills to protect women’s fundamental freedoms—Senate Republicans blocked every single bill. Led by Murray, Senate Democrats also hosted a “State of Abortion Rights” briefing earlier this year to highlight the chaos and cruelty of the abortion bans that have been enacted in Republican-led states since Roe was overturned, and the need to pass legislation to restore the right to abortion nationwide. On June 4th, Senator Murray chaired a HELP Committee hearing titled “The Assault on Women’s Freedoms: How Abortion Bans Have Created a Health Care Nightmare Across America.” Recently, Senate Democrats forced Republicans on the record on votes to protect access to contraception and access to IVF—Senate Republicans blocked consideration of both bills, showing once again how extreme and out-of-step they are with the American people when it comes to reproductive rights for women.
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